London in the Dog-Days

Part One

The night was hot, stiflingly so, and the sweat poured down John Druitts' lean frame. But there was no stopping yet. He had to shake the thing off, and he was beginning to wonder if he actually could. There was nowhere he could run to -he would not go to Sanctuary with this thing on his tail! Much as he would love to see it butcher James Watson, he couldn't bring himself to place Helen in danger, even now.

The thing was stronger than he, and agile to boot. Absolutely fearless and rugged enough to ignore the two deep slashes he had managed to inflict, albeit at the cost of a stab wound that would have been fatal had he been one whit less quick. The blade had slid through the muscles of his chest at an angle, painful but not disabling, and the thing within him was already healing it. But he would not close with his quarry again.

Ironic that he had come to hunt the very thing that now relentlessly pursued him. The tales of headless bodies turning up in the worst areas of London had brought him back. Another Ripper panic was liable to start, and John Druitt intended to put a stop to it first. The poor sick psychopath who he'd used for cover before was dead, killed by that abominably clever veiled woman on the night she had run Druitt out of town. He had things to do, and they did not include having Madame Vastra on his trail again!

But the hunter had too rapidly become the hunted. His ambush had been flawless, catching the creature as it collected another trophy. But its reactions had been astoundingly fast, that was how he had been wounded. Clearly some kind of Abnormal, the beast also had advanced technology. As well as a variety of bladed weapons, it had some kind of shoulder-mounted gun that fired bolts of energy. He guessed also that its visor allowed it to see more than a human could.

He had only two advantages. His own enhanced senses allowed him to hear, smell and feel the creature despite its ability to become invisible, and he was faster. Even so, the beast was clever. Druitt had to keep his teleports random in direction and distance. If he established a pattern, he could reappear into fire.

So he ran, taking to the rooftops, teleporting only when he had to. Dodging, twisting, diving into foul alleys, trying to lose himself in the mazes of Londons' huge warehouses. But the hunter never faltered, never relented. Like a wolf, it would run him down eventually, unless he could tire it first. His endurance was superhuman, but so was his opponents'. Still, if it tired first and gave up the chase, he might yet track it to its lair. Then, with the help of Helen, Watson and Tesla, he would be able to trap or kill it.

But that might yet prove impossible. He was forced to the rooftops again, bounding from one to the other. He felt the heat-spots on his back, and teleported behind a chimney-stack as the energy weapon demolished the roof-tiles where he'd been. He glanced out. The beast was reorienting itself, clearly scanning with some kind of special vision.

But just as it locked in on him again, another element entered the hunt. With a wasp-like snarl, a bolt of red energy struck the tiles near the hunters' feet, shattering them into dust and smoke. The creature swept the area for this new threat, but two more bolts, each a little nearer, sent it staggering back. With a surprisingly human gesture of disgust, it went invisible again.

Druitt realised it was fleeing and made to follow. Now was his chance! But another red bolt struck just in front of him - a clear warning not to proceed. Normally, he would have ignored it, but he had already lost the trail – the thing was fast.

He glanced down into the street where the fire had come from. He glimpsed a squat figure disappearing up a passage. He considered following, but, the risk was too great -whoever it was had advanced weaponry that could only come from one source in 19th Century London. Best head for Sanctuary. Much as he loathed his former colleagues, he needed them now more than ever!

"It was, as you suspected, Madame," Strax announced, "what is called a Predator. One of them once disrupted operations at 207th Army Headquarters for an entire afternoon."

"So I was correct in my deduction." The Silurian woman nodded. "This situation requires careful handling."

"May I ask why I was not permitted to simply obliterate it?" Strax could not conceal the disappointment in his voice.

"Because," Vastra explained patiently, "by his lights, he has done nothing wrong. We need to speak with him, or them if there are others. Earth is one of their traditional hunting grounds, but we must make it clear to them that they need to restrict themselves to remote rural areas from now on. Humans are currently largely helpless against them, but within a very short time, that will change.

"Humans are not truly hunters, and they are very territorial. They would respond to Predator activity in their urban centres as they would to a military invasion, and the consequences would be appalling for both species."

"I have another matter to report." Strax went on. "The Predator was in a pursuit of a human at the time. I identified the individual as John Druitt. When I warned the Predator off, he was attempting to follow it. I also fired a warning shot at him, as I had no orders to engage fully."

"Druitt?" Jenny was surprised. "Thought you saw 'im off?"

"So did I." Vastra mused. "John Druitt is a man of considerable intelligence. If he heard of the recent killings, he would suspect, as I do, that people would say the Ripper had returned."

"So 'e's come back to nip it in the bud 'cos 'e doesn't want you chasin' 'im again?" Jenny suggested.

"Very likely." Vastra agreed. "But having encountered the Predator, he would assume it is what he and his former colleagues would refer to as an 'Abnormal'.

"If he is in sufficient control of himself to take note of your warning, Strax, then it is probable he will seek assistance from Sanctuary. Whether they will grant it or not is another matter. Certainly, though, they too will seek to deal with the Predator."

"Bloody 'Elen Magnus!" Jenny growled. "I 'ope that fing catches 'er and uses 'er 'ead as a ruddy football!"

"Helen Magnus is a brilliant and dedicated woman." Vastra pointed out. "I admire her work, even if her ignorance of certain facts makes her troublesome occasionally."

"She wants to lock you up in 'er private zoo!" Jenny said hotly. "Strax, too!"

"I will never be held in any zoo!" Declared the Sontaran stoutly. "I do not care for peanuts. Especially when they are thrown at me!"

"We will deal with Magnus as and when we must." Vastra stated firmly. "For now we need to locate the Predators' ship, which he will be using as a base. We must also ensure that the human authorities do not put themselves in danger by encountering the Predator directly."

"Not much chance of that." Jenny remarked. "Coppers are a dead loss, as usual!"

"It is due to the current development of their civilisation, my dear." Vastra pointed out. "There were similar periods in Silurian history when it was near impossible to keep order in our larger cities."

"Such a thing has never occurred in Sontaran society!" Strax boasted.

"Yeah." Jenny allowed. "But Sontarans don't 'ave fun, either!"

"On the contrary." Strax told her. "One can have a good deal of harmless amusement with a box of grenades!"

Watson kept his revolver aimed steadily at Druitts' head, which was, to say the least, tiresome. Druitt was more than capable of taking the thing away from the man at any time, of course. However, the presence of Nikola Tesla was a definite inhibition. The Vampire was a match for Druitt in combat, and though Druitt could teleport away, that would leave him to face the creature on his own, a prospect he did not relish.

He kept his attention fixed on Helen. That wasn't difficult, she was as lovely as ever, but her eyes were hard.

"I'm not even sure it's really an Abnormal." He was saying. "The level of technology it possesses is far beyond anything even Tesla here could dream up."

Tesla snorted in disbelief, but Helen quelled him with a look.

"So you came here for protection?" She asked. "Safety? Why come back to London at all, John?"

He gave a weary shrug. "I would not have done, Helen, except for the rumours which must come from this. Rumours that the Ripper has returned."

This time it was James Watson who snorted, in disgust. "You're a liar, Druitt! This killer hunts men, not women. He beheads his victims, rather than gutting them.

"Even the police don't think this is the Ripper! Admit it, Druitt, you're here for Helen!"

"Of course I'm a liar, James." Druitt was rather sad than angry. "But not this time. No, the police don't think it's the Ripper. But the people, those poor fools who scratch and starve in this stinking city, they will cry 'Ripper'."

"But not for long." Helen told him. "They would change it, come up with a new name, a new bogeyman to scare children with.

"There's more, isn't there, John?"

He nodded soberly. "There is one person in the city who would not hesitate to connect me with these killings. Who would simply think I had changed my methods, or my reasons. I didn't leave the city because of you, James. I respect you, but I don't fear you. The Veiled Detective, however, is a different matter!"

Helen got up impatiently and began to pace.

"Vastra!" She hissed. "She's a fool! How long does she think she can put people off with her talk of a 'skin disease'. I've seen what's under that veil, and she's an Abnormal. She belongs here with us, in safety. If she stays outside, sooner or later, she'll be found out. They'll hound her to death.

"Does she know you're here, John?"

He nodded, and said grimly. "I think she must. There was someone else there tonight, someone with an energy weapon. But it wasn't Vastra. It was short, squat-looking, but moved very fast."

Helen looked at Watson, who reluctantly put away his pistol and went to a bookcase, pulling down a large commonplace book. He searched through the pages until he found the one he wanted, then handed it to Druitt. The page held a photographic image of three people. One was an ordinary young woman, rather pretty but otherwise normal. Next to her was another woman, but with a scaled skin, no hair and an oddly ridged skull. Slightly behind was a third figure, shorter than the girl but very broad. There was no neck that Druitt could see, the head seemed built from the shoulders in the manner of a pyramid. It was hairless too, but the skin was smooth, not scaled. The face looked ridiculously small, with close-set, penetrating eyes, a beaky nose and a small mouth.

"Madame Vastra, of course, and her 'maid' Jenny. They seem to have a very close relationship." Watson remarked. Tesla snorted again.

"Sapphists, you mean!" He said in a tone more of amusement than disgust. "Sapphists may do as they will in this fair, Christian land, but the poor Sodomites must go to prison or go without!"

Watson ignored him and went on. "The other one joined Vastra's entourage not long ago. He's her butler, footman, coachman and general factotum. He calls himself Mr Strax and claims to be a Brazilian pygmy!"

"I can't be absolutely certain, of course." Druitt allowed. "But it may well have been him. Either he's a poor shot, or he wasn't interested in killing either of us."

"The latter, then." Helen said firmly. "I have seen Mr Strax shoot, and he does not miss unintentionally."

She resumed her pacing.

"So, Madame Vastra knows of this Abnormal. Knows what it is and what it is doing. But she clearly instructed her henchman not to kill it. Why? She's been quite ruthless in the past."

"She wasn't with me." Druitt pointed out. "She could quite easily have killed me, that time, she had me at swords' point with nowhere to go."

"What did she say to you?" Watson asked.

Druitt shrugged. "She said it wasn't my time yet and to get out of London, and stay away."

Helen shook her head in frustration. "She knows things, has access to information we don't. I'm sure she knows what this creature is and all about it. But what does she want with it? Never mind, we'll find out if we come across her again.

"James, what do you have?"

Watson rubbed at his chin. "The creature chooses healthy, male victims. So far, a seaman, a former soldier employed as a watchman and a well-known 'hard man' from a local criminal gang. All of them were identified by their clothing and effects, which were matched to men who had gone missing.

"The bodies were found early in the morning, some distance from their usual haunts. They had been decapitated, but that was not the cause of death. One had been stabbed at least three times, and appears to have put up a struggle. Another had a penetrating would clean through his chest and heart, rather like a spear wound. The third had a hole...burned...right through his torso.

"In the absence of any other explanation, I'd be inclined to say the thing is a hunter. Selecting prey for the quality of the chase they will give -there are many easier victims in this city – running them down and taking trophies.

"The only sure thing we have is that these chases seem to start in the docks area. That tells us two things. One is that the Abnormal has its base somewhere near, or possibly in, the river. The other is that we have a search on our hands -the Port of London is the largest area of docks in the world.

"As to what Druitt tells us about its weapons and abilities, that's more in your line, Tesla."

Tesla frowned, and spoke with less than his usual irritating drawl. "Griffin's our expert on invisibility, but he's in Paris at the moment. Then again, the Abnormals' ability to vanish seems to be technological rather than natural or based on a drug. I've thought about how to do that from time to time, myself. Stage magicians use angled mirrors to convince audiences that things have vanished, but that requires a lot of setting up in advance -it's not mobile. You can use prisms to refract or bend light – some kind of suit or coating that bends light around the wearer? It might even be done with a strong enough magnetic field.

"Seeing in the dark is childs' play -there are lots of ways to do that. This being may not even see in ordinary light as we do. It could be able to 'see' heat, for instance.

"The energy weapon is a different matter. We don't have any source of power small yet strong enough to produce anything but the most pathetic spark. Clearly, others do. I'd like to get my hands on one!"

"Why not just make one?" Druitt mocked.

"Oh, I will, eventually." Teslas' drawl was back.

"Enough!" Helen snapped. "Right now we need to find and stop this Hunter. Do any of you have any thoughts on that?"

Watson nodded. "In India, they hunt tigers -especially man-eaters – from ambush. They tether a goat to a tree, then lie in wait with their guns."

Helen smiled grimly. "There are plenty of places near the docks where we could set up an ambush. All we need is bait!"

Druitt laughed -a mirthless bark – and said. "What better bait than a quarry which has already eluded the hunter once? I'll lead him into your trap, but I could do with a meal and some sleep, first!"

Authors' Note

The term 'dog-days' used in the title is an old-fashioned reference to the hottest and sultriest days of summer, which in the Northern Hemisphere are typically July and August (or were at the time this story is set). The term itself has its roots in Ancient Rome, where the hottest summer weather was associated with the rising of Sirius, the so-called dog-star and brightest star in the night sky, just before sunrise. This no longer happens due to the precession of the equinoxes, but the name stuck for quite some centuries.

It is a known characteristic of Predator behaviour that they only visit Earth during the hottest of summers.

Teslas' comments about Sapphists and Sodomites refer to the Offences against the Person Act 1861 which specified a jail term of ten years to life in penal servitude (with hard labour) for male homosexual behaviour, but made no mention at all of Lesbians (Sapphists). The story goes that Queen Victoria did not believe that women would engage in these unsavoury activities and therefore deemed such a law unnecessary!